Just off a call with Brian Forde, Advisor to the United States CTO on Mobile and Data Innovation.

It was a “how do we get the word out to developers” call – obviously not a tough conversation when Women 2.0 is involved.

This app challenge has some beyond the usual government contest features, including an incredible line-up of judges who are reviewing the submissions (Nilofer Merchant and Joanne Wilson are two of the judges) and then there are some cool prizes for the winners including General Assembly Scholarships (5), a two-day bootcamp organized by Women Innovate Mobile and a non-profit app award from Catalyst.

Yes, Women Innovate Mobile – Veronika Sonsev, Deborah Jackson and myself feel strongly about the opportunities offered by this DOL app challenge or we wouldn’t have put our name, networks and ideas behind it. Help us spread the word!

Here’s the official info on the challenge from the Dept of Labor:

Equal Pay App Challenge

The contest calls on developers to use publicly available data and resources to create innovative, easy-to-use apps that educate users about the pay gap and provide tools to combat it. The apps should improve the accessibility of pay data broken down by gender, race and ethnicity, and provide coaching on early career pay, pay negotiation or career mentorship. Below you will find a list of resources that can be shared with potential participants and supporters of the Equal Pay App Challenge.

A total of eight (8) prizes will be awarded, including five (5) grand prizes and three (3) goals challenge prizes – winners will be announce at or around April 17, 2012. Additional prize information is here.

There are a total of 13 judges supporting the Equal Pay App Challenge, encompassing government, technology entrepreneurship, and advocacy. A complete list of judges can be found here.

Contestants must register for the contest on Challenge.gov by creating an account between January 31, 2012 and March 31, 2012. All entries received after March 31, 2012 will not be considered for prizes.

You can support the Equal Pay App Contest via Twitter by following @usdol and using the hashtag #EqualPayApps. You can always retweet DOL’s message found here or use your own – I have included some suggested language:

Editor’s note: Got a question for our guest blogger? Leave a message in the comments below.

About the guest blogger: Kelly Hoey is Co-Founder and Managing Director of Women Innovate Mobile, the first accelerator program for women founded (or co-founded) startups focused on mobile technology or mobile applications. She sits on the Women’s Advisory Board for mobile and social gaming company, Stone Creek Entertainment and the startup advisory boards of Lion’esque Style and The Levo League. She is a business strategic and connector. Follow her on Twitter at @jkhoey.